Chapter 7
I rolled over in bed as West sat up. My eyes creaked open as I looked at his alarm clock.
“Five AM? Really, West?” I said with a groan, and he leaned down to kiss my forehead.
“You can stay in bed for a bit, there are something things I need to take care of before we head out,” he replied, which was followed by shuffling at the foot of the bed where the beagle babies were getting up. “Plus, these guys want to eat.”
“Mhmm,” I said before settling into the spot where he’d been, comforted by his smell.
A few hours later, I was woken by the sound of his singing downstairs. I laughed to myself. He may have been an artist, but he certainly didn’t have a good voice, and it wasn’t because he was pretending to be awful as he sung the Eagles’ song.
He just really was that bad. I still loved being woken up by it, though. I went to get ready and then met him downstairs where he had a stack of freshly made waffles with strawberries from the backyard and whipped cream. I raised an eyebrow as he smirked at me.
“Happy birthday,” he said as he sat down next to me on the island and slid me a Starbucks coffee.
I smiled, leaning over and kissing his cheek. “This is already an amazing birthday.”
West chuckled, and my skin tingled as I looked at his smile. “We’re going to keep going in that direction.”
“Are we now?” I said. I took a bite of the waffle and found that there were chocolate chips in it. I moaned, closing my eyes. “Better than this?”
West nodded. “I hope you don’t mind. I changed our plans a bit. I figured we couldn’t go into the city with the pups, and I know it’s a bit too cold for the ocean, but I figured we could go to the Cape. Maybe have a game of volleyball, and eat the last lobster rolls of the season. Just meander the coast.”
The piece of waffle went heavy, sticking in my throat as I swallowed.
The Cape.
The last time I’d been there, Adam and Bobby had fought, and Tara had come away with a concussion. My ears rang, and I could feel the blood drain from my face. West slowly put his paper cup down.
“Are you okay?” he asked, concern showing in the way his eyes flickered over mine.
I closed my eyes, inhaling through my nose. “The last time I went–“
“It was with them?” West filled in the blank, and his voice went hard at the edges. I opened my eyes to see him leaning against the kitchen island, his tattoos flattening against his arms.
“Yeah, there was a big fight. Tara ended up going to the hospital,” I replied, and West’s eyes widened. “Accidentally. Bobby pushed Adam, and he went into Tara. She hit the volleyball net’s post.”
West looked ahead, his tongue running over the inside of his cheek before he turned to look at me. His green eyes twinkled with a new enthusiasm. “So we fix it.”
“Fix what?” I asked, looking at the once tasty breakfast that was now getting cold.
“Bad memories. We’re going to make new good ones to replace them,” West replied before nodding to our breakfast. “Starting with the general birthday suckage and moving onto specifics like the Cape. When was the last time you played volleyball?”
I swallowed, and West gave a knowing nod before playing with his waffles. His voice was deep as he continued, “Ate a lobster roll?”
This time his eyes rose to mine.
“He ruined a lot of things for you, didn’t he?”
“The lobster roll wasn’t a bad memory,” I replied, and he took an angry bite of his waffle, smearing whip cream across his cheek.
“I’m going to make it better,” he said through his full mouth.
I laughed leaning up and kissing away the cream. “I’m sure you will.”
One of his eyebrows rose. “Eat up, Missy. I have an ex-boyfriend to show up.”
I laughed at that, taking a bite of the fantastic waffles and the strawberries we’d grown together. The crop had been so plentiful that half the freezer in West’s house was filled with them, and there were another two bags in my freezer. The waffles beat Adam’s perfectly gooey in the middle pancakes because they symbolized West and I. Something different. Something sweet and that we made together. Like he intrinsically knew that breakfast food like this would be the start of a perfect day.
“You’re already winning,” I said, popping the last strawberry in my mouth.
“And how is that?” West asked as he took my plate to put it in the dishwasher. I bit my lip at the way his ass looked perfect in his jeans.
He turned, and I signaled with my finger for him to lean over the island to me. I kissed him once slowly, and then pulled away, pressing our foreheads together.
“By being you.”
Guilt flashed over his features as he nodded to the door. “We’ll see how you feel about that in a minute.”
I narrowed my eyes at him as I followed him out the door, stopping in my tracks at the convertible in the driveway. He turned, tipping on his toes and pulled the keys out of his pocket. A tiny red ribbon was wrapped around the key ring. I blinked hard at him and then at the car. It wasn’t new, that much I could tell from the square shape of the car, but it was still a BMW.
“I know you said you didn’t want a new car, but this isn’t a new car. I got it for fifteen hundred bucks a few years back, and it’s a 1993 3-18i. I had new leather seats put in and upgraded the suspension and rims, but that’s it,” West explained, jingling the keys.
“That’s it?” I asked, stepping forward and grabbing the keys. I paused as I got to the door, looking at the red leather — faintly reminiscent of Adam’s GLI. My eyes moved to the stick shift. The last time I’d driven anything sporty like this was when I drove Adam home from the hospital after Bobby.
“You mad?” West asked, coming behind me and putting his hand on my shoulder.
I turned, hiding the tears in my eyes as I placed my head on his shoulder.
“No,” I replied, my response muffled by his gray t-shirt. “I love it.”
I composed myself and pulled away. “It’s still too much for a birthday present, though.”
West’s shoulders rose up to his ears. “You want to drive it?”
“Hell yes!” I replied, and a smile broke onto his lips. “And there’s even room for the pups in the back.
He winked in response, and as if on cue, Bagel pushed open the partially closed door and tumbled out followed by his brother and sister. West turned, picking each one up and depositing them in the back. He buckled their harnesses to their seat attachment before sliding across the hood and getting in himself. I stood outside, hand on the door latch with an eyebrow raised.
West chuckled, apparently amused with himself, and I couldn’t keep the smile off my lips as my chest warmed.
“Couldn’t help yourself, could you?” I asked, and he patted the driver’s seat.
“You know you wanna.”
I rolled my eyes before giving in. The seats were molded to perfection, sculpting around my body, and I practically melted into them.
West wiggled his eyebrows. “Good, huh?”
I laughed as I started the car. “You? Yes, you’re definitely good.”
“Keep it clean with the kids in the back,” West replied, smirking at me as he dropped his sunglasses over his eyes and handed me mine.
We drove to the Cape, relishing the unseasonably warm late October air and sunshine and enjoying each other’s company. We didn’t need to talk, and the silence was the polar opposite of what happened on my last trip. West nodded for me to take a right and my body tensed. We were even heading to the same beach. My fingers gripped the gear shift hard and West put his hand over mine, working to loosen them just with his warmth. We parked and sat in silence staring out at the beach in front of us. There were more people than I thought would be there, probably those that lived in the area soaking in the last minute heat burst in fall. West took a deep breath, and for the first time, I wondered if this was hard for him, too. He told me Sophia loved the beach, but I knew he still came because he always brought her seashells.
“Every time I come to the beach I have to take pause. Just breath it in, feel the sand between my toes, the smell of the waves and try not to let memories overwhelm me,” West said as he looked over at me. “They’re good ones, but all the same, sometimes I struggle to breathe with them coming over me. I have to remind myself of all the things Soph loved and to take them in.”
I squeezed his hand, smiling at him. “Then let’s do that — together.”
West’s hand came up to my cheek, and he pressed his lips against my forehead. “I’d like that.”
We put the pups on their leashes and then headed towards the water. When we reached the sand at the end of the concrete steps, I stopped and West looked over his shoulder at me. I slipped off my flip-flops and stepped down to his level, sinking my feet into the sand.
“Take it all in,” I reminded him, and he took his shoes off to sink his toes in.
I closed my eyes and inhaled the salty air, tipping my head back and cracking an eye open to see if West was doing the same. He shook his head as he glanced down at me.
“Amazing,” he whispered before following my lead. After a moment, he pulled me into his arms, and I leaned up on my toes. We kissed until the dogs started pulling us towards the ocean, bored with the little section we’d made our own at the moment.
“Ocean?” I asked, and West nodded. We walked hand in hand, keeping a tight leash on the dogs as we neared the ocean. The dogs smelled the water and then jumped back as the waves crashed up over their paws. I leaned back into his arms.
“This is perfect,” I said, and West put his chin on my head.
“It is, but I wanted this to be about you,” he replied, using his hands to turn me to face him. “Not me.”
“You’re a part of me,” I said.
His eyelashes fluttered. “Freaking perfect.”
“With your help,” I replied, and my eyes moved behind him where I saw the volleyball nets. A few people were getting ready for a game. West’s gaze followed mine, and I swallowed the lump in my throat.
“Now’s my opportunity to do the same for you,” he said, and I inhaled slowly. He squeezed my elbows before we headed over to the group and he called, “Need a few more players?”